Organization
The International Union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, was founded in 1881. The mission and purpose of the Carpenters union is to provide employment services to its members and negotiate agreements with employers of its members.

Nature of Trade
The trade of carpentry includes many phases of the construction industry, e.g. milling, fashioning, joining, assembly, erecting, fastening, or dismantling of all structural materials. The handling, cleaning, erecting, installing, and dismantling of machinery, equipment and materials are all phases of the millwright area of carpentry. Carpenters in some cases specialize in one particular phase of the trade such as the installation of acoustical materials, driving pile, making cabinets, laying wood and resilient floor, laying carpet, or working in sawmills. Carpenters use blueprints and specifications to determine types of materials and sizes to be used on the jobs.

Formal Training
Carpenters participate in a four year Apprenticeship program that covers approximately 1300 hours of on the job training and 144 hours of related classroom instruction each year.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America has put forth an all-out effort not only to train people for entry into the field of carpentry, but to offer training for those who are already journeymen carpenters by upgrading their present abilities and expanding their knowledge and skills so that they may be familiar with and prepared for all innovations. Specialize training and additional certification programs are available.